


Bump In The Night

by Pacificrey



Series: I'm Not Afraid Of The Dark [1]
Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF, Sugar Pine 7 RPF, The Creatures | Cow Chop RPF
Genre: Alcohol, Gen, Ghosts, Vampires, Werewolves, for later chapters, i'm not really sure what to call it, monsterAU, spooky scary au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-10
Updated: 2018-03-07
Packaged: 2019-03-16 08:49:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 18,037
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13632870
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pacificrey/pseuds/Pacificrey
Summary: The human world used to be much more interesting. When oral stories were abundant and the only thing that people had to keep back the darkness was fire, monsters shared this world with humans. Today, monsters still live with us, and they mostly try to blend in. Sometimes, however, something comes along that makes that difficult.--It's been a few months since Aleks has held a steady job, and when he finds the ad hiring for tech help, he decides to ignore the obvious warning signs.





	1. New Job

Aleks couldn’t believe his luck. It had been a few weeks since he had been fired from his last job, and he had been looking since then. LinkedIn, Craigslist, hell, Facebook. He was desperate, and desperate Aleks sometimes made bad decisions. But calling a number off of a paper advertisement stapled to a telephone pole behind the rundown pizza place where he worked temporarily while his friend was on vacation wasn’t that bad of an idea, right?

 

The ad said that the company was a branch of a non-profit, and they needed someone for office work, preferably someone with software experience. There was also a few other requirements at the bottom of the page, ones like, preferably single and living on their own, doesn’t ask questions, minds their own business. Aleks kind of ignored that part though. It also said that they paid while they were training you, so that was a plus.

 

The number he dialed rang twice before it went to a message: _This number has been disconnected._

 

Damn it.

 

The pizza place was pretty good temporary work, but he needed something more if he was going to continue to live in his apartment. Rent wasn’t cheap, and a delivery driver salary was not going to cut it. Aleks got in his car, taking off his hat and starting the car.

 

His drive home was uneventful, as it usually was. Los Angeles, for all of its glamor, could be pretty boring. He pulled in his driveway and got inside, basically flopping facedown on his bed.

 

_Bzzz. Bzzz._

 

Aleks startled awake, the light of his ringing phone blinding him. He realized that he had fallen asleep without changing, and cursed himself for not at least trying to clean himself up before getting in bed. _Bzzz. Bzzz._ It was 2:15. The phone buzzed again, and Aleks focused on the number. It was unlisted, and Aleks hesitated. _Who is calling me this early in the morning?_ Aleks answered, his voice scratchy.

 

“Hello?”

 

“I’m sorry, did I wake you?” The voice sounded almost sarcastic, and Aleks couldn’t tell if they were being serious.

 

“Nah, man I was up. Who is this again?” He asked, snarking right back at him. The voice on the other end answered.

 

“This is a division of the RT enterprise, I believe that you called earlier for a job?” The voice asked, and Aleks sat upright.

 

“Uh, yes, yes I did,” Aleks answered, not at all wondering how they knew he had called when the number was disconnected. The voice made an approving sound.

 

“Ok, well if you’d like to come in for an interview-” The voice continued, but Aleks cut them off.

 

“An interview?” The voice laughed, and Aleks was instantly annoyed at how this person could be this awake at 3 in the morning. He was probably some guy on the other coast, or even in Europe they had outsourced for night calls.

 

“Yes, an interview,” the voice said. “We would like to see if you are a good fit for the company.”

 

Aleks nodded. “Ok, when do you want me to come in?” There was a pause. Aleks heard paper turning and writing.

 

“Let’s make it bright and early at 10 o'clock,” the voice said, and Aleks groaned inwardly.

 

“Ok, sounds good.” There was another pause.

 

“And can I have your name?” the voice said.

 

“Aleks. What’s yours?” Aleks knew that he kind of sounded rude, but who set up an interview the morning of?

 

“I am James. Thank you Aleks, I’ll see you in a bit.” The phone clicked, and Aleks was left in silence.

 

“Well, better try and get some more sleep,” Aleks said out loud to no one in particular, as he laid back down and tried to fall back asleep.

 

_____

  


“That is the last fucking time I let you hire anybody!” Brett sneered, and James thought that he did not deserve this harsh treatment. Brett was stalking up and down the warehouse, while Asher was trying his best to clean up as best as possible. “A human? Did you really think that would work?” James opened his mouth to answer, and Trevor raised his hand at his desk. “I’m not talking about you, Trevor!” Brett yelled, and Trevor meekly put his hand down and returned to his work.

 

“He does kind of have a point,” James said, gesturing to Trevor, and Brett groaned.

 

“Trevor is a special case. He _knew_ that monsters existed. This guy is going in cold turkey,” Brett ran his hands across his face, seemingly trying to pull off his own skin in frustration. “Look at your own desk!” Brett yelled, and James meekly looked over. Ok, maybe Brett did have a point. James wasn’t the biggest fan of a clean space, and blood bags and other trash littered his area. “You need to clean.”

 

“You need to clean,” James mocked under his breath as he dragged a trash bag over to his desk, pushing the trash on his desk into the bin. “Are you bothered by this?” James yelled out to Trevor, who looked over, looking at the pile and back at James. He shrugged and put his headphones back on. James huffed and put down the bag. He looked around the warehouse. James had no idea why Brett was so worried.

 

“Lindsey!” James yelled out, and Lindsey yelled back.

 

“What James?” James took a deep breath. It was always hard to talk to Lindsey with requests since she could convince you to do anything, even if she wasn’t trying. Perks of being a siren.

 

“I uh, would kind of like some help with this new recruit.” Lindsey pursed her lips, smirking over at James.

 

“What am I going to get out of this?” She smiled, and James groaned. _Here we go._

 

“Uh, well what would you like?” He asked, timidly, before Brett yelled from the other room.

 

“Tell him he needs to keep his blood out of my veggie drawer!” Lindsey laughed at Brett’s request.

 

“Ok,” She agreed. “James,” She said, and James could feel all of his muscles involuntarily clench. “I’m going to need you to move all your blood bags from the fridge.” James heard himself say yes. “Good!” Lindsey cheered, and then she asked, “So what do you need my help with?”

 

James shook his head, trying to clear the small fog. “If this guy gets, like weirded out or something, or sees something he shouldn’t see, I would like some...convincing...backup.” Lindsey cocked her head, thinking of the deal.

 

“Sounds good, when is he getting here?” James glanced at the clock. _Shit._

 

____

  


Aleks drove into the parking lot, remarking that the building was pretty nondescript. Not many windows, and basically looking like a warehouse. _Whatever,_ he thought. _As long as he got paid._ He locked his car behind him and walked up to what he assumed was the front door, and was greeted by a woman with long brown hair and bright blue eyes. She smiled through the glass and then opened the door.

 

“Hi! You must be Aleks!” She let Aleks in, and held out her hand. “I’m Lindsey, I work human-relations here.” Aleks shook her hand and felt at ease with Lindsey. Her words calmed Aleks, and she led him past the lobby into the main area, where he almost bumped into someone else. “James!” he heard Lindsey scold, and Aleks was already apologizing to the man he had bumped. The man had dark, curly hair pulled tight into a bun and deep brown eyes. His facial hair told Aleks that this wasn’t that strict of a company, and Aleks breathed an inward sigh of relief. It’s a crapshoot sometimes with corporate places.

 

The man called James held out his hand, and Aleks took it, giving him a good shake. “Nice to meet you in person, Aleks,” James flashed him a toothy grin. Aleks suddenly remembered that James was the one that had called him for the interview. _Guess he really was awake at 2 this morning._

 

“Oh yes, thank you for setting this up,” Aleks said. He let go of his hand, and James gestured to follow, and Aleks followed the pair to a cow print couch tucked into the corner of the warehouse. Aleks liked the openness of the place, and also liked that they all seemed very chill.

 

“Please sit,” Lindsey said, and Aleks obeyed, James sitting next to him. “So Aleks,” James began, and Aleks lost track of time as he went on autopilot, answering the mundane business questions that James threw at him, and once in a while answering Lindsey’s questions about his own life.

 

“So,” James asked, and Aleks sensed that the questions were ending. “Do you have any questions for us?” Aleks thought. He did, but he also thought that this could definitely be a trick question. He remembered the ad he read: _We want someone that doesn't ask questions._

 

Aleks shook his head. “Nope, I’m good.” James raised his eyebrows, glancing at Lindsey.

 

“Well, Aleks, we’ll call you as soon as we’ve made a final decision,” James stood up, and Aleks followed. They shook hands again, and Aleks smiled.

 

“Sounds good, thank you again, James,” James smiled at him, and Aleks felt something flutter in his chest.

 

“Lindsey, can you show our guest out?” James asked, and Lindsey nodded.  


“Of course James,” she said, and Aleks could sense the sarcasm tinted in her voice. Aleks followed her to the door, and she let him out, leaving Aleks out in the LA sun. He walked back to his car, glancing back at the warehouse. _I hope that went well._

 

_____

  


“Brett, we have to hire him,” James pleaded, and Brett shook his head.

 

“Do you know how much of a liability this is going to be? How much paperwork we are going to have to do if this fragile meat sack dies? Or even worse, figures out what’s going on here?”

 

James knew exactly what would happen. Rooster Teeth would cut them off, meaning no food and no protection. But something in James was drawn to Aleks, just as part of him had been drawn to Brett when they first met.

 

“And don’t think I’ll hire him so you can have your own personal blood bag,” Brett threatened, and James rolled his eyes. Brett continued. “Don’t think I know about you and Trevor.” James felt his cheeks blush with shame and he looked away from Brett.

 

“That was an isolated incident,” James said, and Brett knew he hit a sore spot.

 

“Ok, but I can’t have shit like that happening with a human that doesn’t know what’s going on.”

 

James knew that. But he persisted. “I promise it won’t happen again. And plus, we really do need someone to do paperwork.”

 

Brett looked at James, examining him, trying to sense if he was being genuine or not.

 

“Fine. But if something happens, you’re dealing with it.” James smiled, but Brett wasn’t amused. “I’m serious dude, if anything happens, I’m blaming you.”

 

James was out of Brett’s office and was already calling Aleks.

 

“Hello. Yes, it’s James. When would you be able to start?”


	2. Aleks Work

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> At work, Aleks experiences more close calls than he realizes, but every job has its weird days, right?

Aleks wasn’t used to doing that much paperwork. It was monotonous and Aleks had a hard time not falling asleep every day in the office. But he did like the job. The people were pretty nice, which definitely made the job tolerable. He had already met Lindsey, the shorter brown haired woman who worked HR, who also filed paperwork like Aleks. She also managed the rest of the employees schedules, and Aleks learned early on to not piss her off, because she would make you work every weekend until the world ends. He met Brett as well, who Aleks could only describe as a muscle of a man, who usually worked similar shifts. He acted like the boss, but Aleks couldn’t tell if that was really his role. He had a little bit of a short temper, and Aleks could tell when he should and shouldn’t go in his office. Trevor was the other person that worked the same shift as Aleks. He was a young, tall kid with a moppy head of dirty blond hair and tired, tired eyes. Aleks sometimes tried to make conversation with him, but Trevor would either ignore him or was just so bad at holding the conversation that Aleks stopped trying. He had figured out that there was three other people that worked there, but he had never met them. And then there was James, who Aleks had met at the first interview, but hadn’t really seen since. Sometimes he would catch a glimpse of him coming in as Aleks left, but they hadn’t met face to face again. Aleks was a little disappointed about that. He didn’t know how to feel about James, but he had wanted to see James again.  _ It’s fine, _ Aleks thought to himself. 

 

Some days they just left him alone in the office. They told him that they were working off-site, at their office downtown.  _ Whatever _ , Aleks thought to himself. He got to play his own music out loud and they told him that he could leave whenever he finished the work they got him for the day. Overall, Aleks didn’t mind the job.

 

Some days were weird though.

 

The first weird thing that Aleks can remember was one of the first weeks when he came in. It was early, and Aleks had just clocked in. The lights were on, which usually meant that someone from the night shift was still there. 

 

“Hello?” Aleks called out, and he heard some shuffling, followed by silence. “Is there anyone here?” His footsteps echoed on the concrete floor of the warehouse, and the lights flickered above him. He glanced up, and then saw something out of the corner of his vision. He turned around fast, nothing there. “Hello?” he asked again, this time more cautious. He didn’t remember if employee training covered burglaries. The lights flickered again, and Aleks could feel the hair on the back of his neck stand up. Someone was watching him. He turned around again, faster this time, and swore he saw the translucent shape of a woman standing in the doorway. 

 

Then the lights went out. Aleks yelped. It was involuntary, but he was already freaked out. Just as suddenly, the lights came back on, and the feeling of being watched disappeared. Aleks released a breath he didn’t realize he was holding, and walked back into the warehouse, where he sat down, putting on his headphones. He thought if he should ask Brett about it when he got into work later. He knew the rules, but this kind of seemed, more important, and if it was an electrical problem, or a gas leak, then Brett might want to know. 

 

“Hey Brett,” Aleks coughed, and Brett raised his head, eyebrows raised. It had taken Aleks almost all day to psych himself up to go and talk to Brett. “I had a weird experience this morning at the office.”

 

“Like, bad mushroom trip experience or I’m going to have to call up HR experience?” Brett asked, head turned slightly, looking at Aleks with mild interest. 

 

“I would lean more towards the bad trip, but without the drugs.” Aleks said, and Brett nodded. 

 

“What happened?” 

 

“The lights flickered, and I swear…” Aleks paused. “I swear I saw a ghost.” Aleks grimaced. Now that he said it out loud, it sounded even more like he was just seeing things. Brett looked like he was trying to hold his composure, and then burst out laughing.

 

“I’m sorry buddy, but that happens to all the new guys. The way that the light comes in those lobby windows plays tricks on your eyes, and we’ve been meaning to get those lights fixed for months. There’s no haunting here,” Brett said, and the look in his eyes said  _ don’t ask about it again.  _

 

Aleks went back to his desk after that, and tried to ignore anything else that happened that day. 

 

The second weird thing that happened was not long after that, during an argument in the office. Aleks had been working on his papers, like usual, listening to his music. This paper was extra boring, talking about expenses and that kind of shit. He had noticed that they spent a good amount of money buying “food.” He had no idea why it was just labelled food. Maybe it was easier than labelling the individual items, but then why put it in quotations? Why were there some purchases that were food with no question marks? Aleks didn’t know, and he didn’t want to ask. He marked the food and was interrupted by yelling. Loud yelling. 

 

“Lindsey! Lindsey! Get in here!” It sounded like Trevor. Aleks looked up as Lindsey went running across the warehouse to where Trevor was yelling. 

 

“Get out of here!” She yelled, and Aleks saw Trevor high-tail it out of the office.

 

“Brett! Listen to me! Focus on my voice!” It was Lindsey again. She didn’t sound scared or angry. She sounded desperate. Aleks’ desk wasn’t in sight of Brett’s office, and he could hear what sounded like tables being overturned, more general yelling, and what sounded like...snarling? It wasn’t an animal, but there was something instinctively animal about the sound, and Aleks felt it resonate through him. “Brett...please,” Lindsey said, lower this time, and the noises subsided. Aleks shook his head, returning to his paperwork. He really did not want to know what had just happened in there. 

 

The third weird thing that happened was more recent, and was arguably the most strange. 

 

It was only a few days ago, when they had asked Aleks if he could fill one of the night shifts for a few days while someone was out sick.  _ Sure. _ Aleks said. So, instead of the rising sun greeting Aleks, he went into work with the setting sun. It was somehow quieter at night, but he at least got to meet the mysterious night crew. Asher was a dusty blond man that worked the desk behind Aleks. He was quiet, but better at holding a conversation than Trevor. His voice was deep and quiet, like he had been screaming for hours just prior to their conversations. The other person that worked nights was Anna. She had long brown hair and a kind face that Aleks swears he’s seen before. A few times Brett stopped in, asking if they were all doing good. They all worked for a while, the silence comforting instead of stifling. Aleks almost liked it more, but as he left, he realizes that he is not that much of a night owl and just wanted to sleep. 

 

The next shift Aleks worked he came in and Anna was the only one in the office. 

 

“Hey, where’s the crew?” Aleks asked. Anna looked around, like she had just realized that she was the only one in the office. 

 

“Oh, Asher and Trevor had to go pick up James. Something about car troubles?” Anna turned back to her work, and Aleks huffed.  _ That was some new information. _ Aleks knew that Trevor didn’t usually work that the night shift, meaning that Asher and Trevor knew each other enough to at least go pick up their co-worker together. Then something else hit Aleks.

 

‘Wait, James?” He asked, and Anna looked back at Aleks.

 

“Yeah, James works the night shift.” 

 

_ Oh.  _ Aleks thought.  _ It would make sense that he would work the night shift. _ Aleks sat down at his desk, trying to focus on his work. He hadn’t interacted with James since...well, since the interview, but Aleks was intrigued by him. He couldn’t exactly put a finger on it, but something about James pulled something in Aleks. 

 

Night work didn’t seem that much different than day work, it just made Aleks way more tired. He rubbed his eyes, trying to stay awake. Not much time had passed, but it felt like forever. Aleks barely even heard the door to the warehouse open, and when he looked up, he was greeted by a disheveled James, flanked by Asher and Trevor. 

 

James looked surprised when his eyes caught sight of Aleks, and he stopped dead, causing both Trevor and Asher to bump into James. 

 

“Asher?” James said, his eyes not leaving Aleks. Aleks didn’t want to break the gaze, but he could feel the heat of the stare. Asher answered, his voice small. 

 

“Yes James?” James wasn’t even blinking.  _ Ok, this is getting freaky,  _ Aleks thought. 

 

“Why is Aleks in the office?” Asher swallowed hard, and Trevor looked even more uncomfortable. Aleks felt like some kind of specimen, being examined under a harsh light.

 

“Hey, I’m right here,” Aleks said, seeming to break the trance that James was in. James blinked, looking over at Asher. An unspoken communication went between them and Asher shook his head no. 

 

“Sorry, I’m kinda out of it right now,” James answered, shaking his head and flashing a smile before turning back around. 

 

Was it just Aleks or did his teeth seem...sharp?

 

Aleks went back to his work, slightly confused by that...interaction. He wasn’t sure how much time went by before he realized that James was sitting next to him. Aleks jumped in his chair.

 

“Jesus, man. Don’t scare me like that.” Aleks tried to look angry, but he couldn’t stay that mad at James. The feeling of anger left him and was replaced with something else.  _ That’s weird,  _ Aleks thought. Aleks could hold a grudge forever, but he didn’t even feel slightly angry at James. Aleks gave James a side-eye and took a deep breath. 

 

“I’m sorry,” James said, the look on his face genuine. “I kind of forget how creepy this place is during the night.” James scooted closer in his office chair. Aleks was also now acutely aware that the office was empty besides him and James. Asher and Trevor had gone out to McDonalds for a late night snack and Anna...kind of just disappeared. 

 

“Yeah dude, it’s kinda freaky just sneaking up on someone like that,” Aleks huffed, trying to avoid the gaze of James. He inched his way closer and closer, a goofy smile on his face, and Aleks tried to ignore him, but by the time James was basically sniffing his neck, he was hard to ignore. “Dude!” Aleks said, indignant, turning at James. “What are you doing?” James didn’t answer, instead backing away, his face looking strangely pained. Almost offended. Just then, Asher and Trevor walked back into the office, and Asher quickly looked from James to Aleks, then back to James. Aleks swore that he heard him mumble “oh shit,” before quickly putting down his bag of McDonalds and calling James over. James took one last look at Aleks before standing up and walking over to Trevor, following him out into the lobby. Aleks shook his head and tried to focus once more on his work. 

 

When Aleks finally got home after that shift, he opened his phone to a text to an unknown number. He opened it. 

 

_ Hey, sorry for what happened at work today. Isolated incident. I was kind of...off my meds.  _

 

Aleks guessed that it was James, and balanced the phone in his hand, trying to decide how he wanted to respond. 

 

_ It’s ok. Everyone kind of gets weird at night lol. Hope the next shift we work will be better.  _

 

Aleks hoped that it didn’t sound weird and before James could respond, Aleks was sleeping, the morning rays of sun barely making their way through the window. 

 

__

  
  


“Dude, please just listen to what I’m saying!” Aleks yelled, but there wasn’t a hint of anger in his voice. Instead he laughed, watching as once again the boss slammed his hammer into Aleks. James cackled next to him, his now familiar laugh echoing across the empty warehouse. After the weird first night, James asked Aleks if he wanted to stay after work a few days and play videos games with him. It helped him relax, James explained. 

 

“If I listened to you, then could I do this?” James yelled back, his character jumping across a chasm, before jumping down on top of the boss, James’ sword plunging into his head. Aleks shook his head. 

 

“Ok, yeah you defeated the boss, but would we even be here without my directions?” Aleks motioned to himself, and James laughed again. Aleks shook his head, laughing along with James. They both wound down, and James suddenly got silent, looking seriously at Aleks. “Hey,” James said, and Aleks looked at him, admiring his deep brown eyes. “I’m going out tomorrow night. Would you be,” James paused. “Up for going out with me?” 

 

Aleks was slightly taken aback. Not because of the offer, he was so up for going. He really didn’t expect that James thought of him than more than a work acquaintance. Aleks shook his head, a smile growing across his face. “Oh yeah, I’m down for a good night on the town.” 

 

James smiled back, and Aleks could tell that the night was going to be great. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so maybe, just maybe, I'll try and update closer together. I've got a bunch of chapters ready to be edited, so as long as I can keep up, I'll try to get these to you guys!


	3. Brain Food

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a night on the town, James and Aleks both have big problems they have to deal with.

James did not want to be responsible for another dead body. But here he was, sitting on the floor next to the couch, wondering how the fuck this happened. He gingerly touched the body under the blanket next to him, hoping that maybe this was just another bad dream, that he had just made this all up. 

 

He was still there. He retracted his hand fast, hated knowing that he was the one that caused this. He heard the front door opening and jumped up, hoping that it was the person he called. 

 

Trevor walked into the warehouse, looking worried, and James heaved a sigh of relief. 

 

“Dude, is that it?” Trevor asked, his voice quiet. James nodded. “Brett is going to kill you,” Trevor mumbled as he walked forward, laying his jacket across one of the chairs. 

 

“Why do you think I brought him here? Brett doesn’t come in until later, I have at least a few hours.” James didn’t like it any more than Trevor. “Besides, I couldn’t really drag a body across the whole of LA to my apartment without attracting more attention than necessary.” 

 

Trevor nodded, and James once again couldn’t believe that he was in this situation. 

 

“It wasn’t you, was it?” Trevor asked. James looked at him, and Trevor looked scared. 

 

“What do you mean?” James asked, the strain of the situation escaping in his voice. 

 

“You didn’t kill him did you?” Trevor said, and James couldn’t stop that anger that bubbled up in him. 

 

“You think that I would purposefully kill him? He’s...one of my best friends,” James said, his voice shaking. “No, I didn’t fucking kill him.” 

 

“Then what happened?” 

 

“Should I call Lindsey?” Trevor asked, and James shook his head. The fewer people that knew, the better. “Then what are we going to do?”

 

_ 10 hours earlier. _

 

James couldn’t believe that he was doing this. Inviting a human out. But Aleks was different. James couldn’t pinpoint it, but he genuinely enjoyed hanging out with him at work, so he decided that the logical next step would be to bring him out on the town. Right? That’s what humans do? James wasn’t super up to date on recent human trends, but Aleks didn’t seem to mind. 

 

A text illuminated his phone.  _ We still on for tonight? _ James smiled and answered. “Definitely, want me to pick you up?” James felt something in his chest flutter. It wasn’t his heart, that had stopped beating years ago.  _ Yeah, that would be great.  _ No, this was excitement. 

 

James drove fast through the streets, or at least as fast as traffic would let him. When he pulled up in front of Alek’s apartment, he pulled out his phone, typing out,  _ Here.  _ Before he could hit send, someone tapped his passenger window. He looked up from his phone and saw Aleks hunched over, smiling like a lunatic into his window. James locked his phone and unlocked the car, rolling his eyes as Aleks opened the door and climbed in. He was wearing a plain white tee shirt and a leather jacket, and a pair of black jeans. 

 

And he smelled really nice. Not like, food nice, although he did smell nice that way as well. He was wearing some kind of cologne that James guessed was pretty expensive. James waited for Aleks to buckle up and then drove away from the curb. 

 

James wasn’t completely stupid. He wasn’t going to bring a human into a vampire club. Those places could be dicey. He had heard rumors of vampires bringing in humans and, well, it usually turns into a bloodbath. So James was bringing him to a regular human club. But James was planning on going to one of his favorites - one where James could get in whenever he wanted, on the fact that he had both seduced all the bouncers and weaseled his way onto the VIP list. Oh, and the fact that some of the Funhaus crew ran the place. It would be fun, he told Aleks. The place was just called The Club, and although it was frequented by many monsters of higher standings, it was a relatively safe place for humans. He didn’t tell Aleks that. He didn’t like that Aleks didn’t know, and he disliked hiding that part of him. 

 

They parked a few blocks away and walked, the night air warm against James’ skin. Aleks looked really good in the street lights, the orange lighting up his brown eyes. Aleks glanced over, catching James staring. 

 

“What?” Aleks asked. He tried to sound offended, but he could hide the grin on his face. 

 

“Nothing,” James laughed and kept walking. 

 

They had walked to the front of the line, ignoring the glares that came from the rest of the queue. The bouncer smiled at James and Aleks, and they walked right in. The pulsing of the music shook James entire body, and he stood for a moment, taking in the feeling. Aleks grabbed his hand and yelled out over the bass. 

 

“Let’s get some drinks!” 

 

__

  
  


Aleks awoke with the worst hangover ever. He tried to open his eyes, but decided immediately against it, instead, laying as still as possible, hoping that the wave of nausea would pass. He also tried to figure out where he was. But even that was hard. Aleks tried to remember exactly what had happened last night. He remembered the club, getting some drinks, dancing...then black. He searched his memory, going over the night again and again, but it was just flashes and blurs. He thought he could remember small vials of...something, but then again, he wasn’t too sure. 

 

Had James spiked his drink? Aleks mentally shook his head. He didn’t think so, but he also didn’t really know James that well. But hey, he was at least awake, so that was good. 

 

Aleks could feel that he was on a couch, could feel the pain in his back, meaning that he slept there. Even with his eyes closed, he could feel a shitty blanket covering his body and head.  _ At least someone tried to comfort me last night, _ Aleks thought. Voices drifted into his consciousness, and he realized that he must not be alone in the room. He immediately recognized one of the voices. 

 

_ James.  _

 

He couldn’t make out what he was saying, but he sounded anxious. A second voice spoke up, quieter than James’ and more scared. James spoke again, and this time Aleks could make out what he was saying. 

 

“I don’t know what we’re going to do Trevor!” _So the second voice was Trevor,_ Aleks thought before a question entered his mind. Does that mean that he was at the office? Why would he be at the office? Did that mean that he never went home last night? Aleks had a lot of questions to ask, as soon as he felt ready to get off the couch. 

 

It was silent for a minute, and then Aleks heard footsteps coming towards him, and suddenly the blanket was ripped off of him. Aleks kept his eyes closed, trying to prevent the harsh lights from making him throw up. 

 

“Dude,” he heard Trevor say. “Who the fuck dyed his hair?” Aleks’ eyes shot open and he immediately sat up, causing Trevor to scream and fly backward, right into James, who was staring at Aleks in horror. “What the fuck?” Trevor yelled. 

 

“What are you talking about Trevor?” Aleks asked, running his hands through his hair. The lights hurt his eyes, and he tried to open his eyes as little as possible. 

 

‘What the fuck?” James echoed Trevor, both of them scrambling back in what looked like horror. Aleks blinked, slowly letting his eyes open, and swung his legs off the couch, standing up. He immediately threw up, heaving up what looked to be the drinks from last night. Aleks took a deep breath, slowly looking up at Trevor and James. They were staring, both with looks of confusion on their face. As Aleks stayed hunched over, James took a step forward. 

 

“You’re not...dead?” He asked, and Aleks laughed. 

 

“Do I look dead jackass?” He puked again, and Trevor grimaced. 

 

“Yeah, actually you kind of do,” Trevor responded, covering his own mouth, and looking away in disgust. 

 

“Fuck you,” Aleks said in a weak voice. He still felt like utter shit, but at least the nausea had passed. As he stood up, James came over to his side, helping him to stand. 

 

“You ok?” he asked, and Aleks nodded, looking him in the eyes, wondering exactly what happened last night. That was replaced with something else as Trevor came over to help Aleks on the other side. 

 

Aleks was hungry. 

 

Trevor put Alek’s arm around his neck, and they both helped get Aleks towards the bathroom to get him cleaned up. But Aleks couldn’t take his eyes off Trevor. His head looked so good like he could just crush it and eat the insides.  _ Woah, what? _ Aleks thought.  _ What the fuck is that?  _ He was about to ask James about any drugs he had taken last night, but instead, he turned to Trevor. 

 

“Dude, you look so delicious,” Aleks whispered, and Trevor pushed Aleks away, dropping his side. 

 

“What the heck Aleks?” Trevor asked, clearly startled. 

 

“What? What did he do?” James asked, turning to Trevor. Trevor paused, grimacing.  

 

“He said I look delicious,” Trevor said, pointing at Aleks. James shook his head. 

 

“What’s wrong with you Aleks?” James asked, and as Aleks opened his mouth to answer, all three of them heard the door to the warehouse open. 

 

They all stood still as they watched Brett walk into the main area, head down, looking at his phone. He looked up, and upon seeing all three of them, rolled his eyes. Aleks pulled against James, who was now holding him, not letting him get free.  _ I need food,  _ Aleks thought, struggling against James. 

 

“What is going on here?” Brett said, his patience clearly worn thin. Aleks took the opportunity to break free of James and then everything went red. 

 

__ 

  
  


It happened fast, and James almost didn’t react in time. James was so preoccupied with the thousands of questions running through his mind. Why wasn’t Aleks dead? What happened to his hair? Why was he trying to go after Trevor? What the fuck happened to him last night? But as Brett walked in and James was about to answer, Aleks wriggled out of his arms and lunged at Trevor. 

 

James bear-hugged Aleks from behind, trying to keep him from Trevor, who was screaming. Aleks was screaming as well, but it was guttural and feral, something that James hadn’t heard before. Brett rushed over, yelling at Trevor to run, as he grabbed Aleks from the front, trying to keep him from escaping. Aleks growled, and even Brett looked concerned. 

 

“What the fuck did you do to him?” he asked, straining at the effort of keeping Aleks restrained. 

 

“Why does everyone assume that I did this?” James responded, yelled back at Brett. Suddenly, Aleks stopped, and they all collapsed in a pile on the concrete floor. 

 

“Hey, let me out!” They heard Aleks yelling, and James and Brett scrambled to let Aleks off the floor. “Ow, dude, what was the football tackle for?” James looked at Brett in disbelief. 

 

“Do you really not remember what just happened?” James asked and Aleks groaned, shaking his head no. James offered his hand, and Aleks took it, standing up on his own for the first time of the day. 

 

“Aleks, have you seen yourself?” Brett asked, and Aleks shook his head no again. James and Brett finished leading Aleks into the bathroom, where they watched as Aleks looked at himself in the mirror. 

 

‘What the fuck happened to me?” He yelled, and James couldn’t help but flinch. Aleks’ hair was white, and he was even paler than usual, his eyes looking like he hadn’t slept in months. Faded purple veins traced their way under his eyes. It kind of was James’ fault that this happened. He had brought him out. Aleks turned to them, looking like he was going to cry. “What happened to me?” he repeated, quieter this time. 

 

“Well, we can start by asking you why you tried to attack Trevor,” Brett said, and Aleks’ eyebrows crumpled in concentration. 

 

“It was, I didn’t mean to…I was just hungry,” he said, his voice full of sadness. James inhaled sharply.  _ Fuck.  _ What if he bit Aleks without knowing? What is some other vampire bit Aleks? But that still didn’t explain the white hair. Maybe it was some sicko’s calling card, so he could find his new coven members. 

 

“Hungry for what?” James asked, hesitant for the answer. 

 

“You guys are going to laugh at me when I tell you,” Aleks said, still not meeting either James or Brett’s eyes. 

 

“No we won’t bud, just tell us,” Brett said, and Aleks took a deep breath. James tensed as Aleks answered. 

 

“I...I wanted to eat his brains.” 

  
  



	4. Unsteady

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Before the warehouse, before Aleks, before LA, James lived a very different life.

James woke up hungry. It wasn’t uncommon, since many nights he didn’t have the money for dinner, but this was different. He tried sitting up, but winced and put his hand to his head. His brain felt like it might explode. He tried opening his eyes, slowly. 

 

It was dark, and his clothes felt clammy and cold. James blinked, and finally, the trees and mist came into focus in front of him. He sat up straight, this time ignoring the shooting pain in his head.  _ How did he get out here? _ Flashes of the night before came to him. 

 

Going out, drinking, maybe drinking too much, leaving the bar with those other guys, and then black. He couldn’t remember the rest. His whole body ached, and he rubbed his neck. He felt something there, and scratched, his hands coming back with flaky red. Even in the faint moonlight, he could tell that it was dried blood. He wanted to know what that was about, but he also couldn’t ignore his hunger for any longer. 

 

He could smell... _ something _ . It wasn’t regular food per se, but it smelled good. He walked barefoot through the trees, following the smell. Part of him was screaming.  _ What the fuck are you doing? You are not someone that just walks around in the woods in the middle of the night! You don’t know where you are! People could be worried!  _ James pushed those thoughts away. He was so, so hungry. 

 

Something moved up ahead. Branches creaked underfoot, and James instinctively hides behind a tree. The noise stopped, and James peaked around the tree, trying to find the source of the sound. There. About 50 yards up. A person was tied to a post that had been dug into the ground. Their hands were tied, and they had been gagged. 

 

It was a lady. The woman tried to speak through the gag, shifting her weight. Even though James couldn’t hear what she was saying, he could tell that she sounded scared. She sounded tired. But James didn’t care. He approached her quietly from the back, making himself low to the ground.  _ What are you doing? _ The voice in his head said, but James ignored it.  _ Hungry. _ He thought instead. He paused right behind her, the voice cutting through.  _ This is crazy! Why are you doing this?  _

 

James was quick. He jumped up, grabbing the woman’s shoulder and head, exposing her neck. There was a split second where James paused, admiring the softness of the skin, how he could see, how he could  _ feel  _ the pulsing of the hot blood just underneath. But it was just a split second because then he bit down and drank. 

 

James didn’t know how long he sat there, the woman’s dead and limp body hanging between his hands, his mouth covered in her blood. But the next time he looked up, a man was standing there, a grin on his face. 

 

“Congrats, you passed initiation.” The man reached out his hand, and James stared at it a moment before taking it. 

 

“Initiation?” James asked. “What’s going on?” The man flashed James a set of fangs and laughed. 

 

“The names Kootra,” he said, a smile still plastered on his face. “You’ve been recruited to join the army.” James laughed. He didn’t mean to, but the whole situation was just so ridiculous.

 

“You mean to tell me that all new recruits get hazed by being forced to eat someone?” 

 

This time, it was Kootra that laughed. “Nope. Only the vampire ones.” James' stomach dropped. Vampire. This was definitely a bad dream.

 

“Yes, you really are a blood-sucking vampire. If you want to make it through this war, you’re going to have to accept that.” Kootra said, much more seriously this time. He put his hand on James’ shoulder, and James felt something, like a shock of electricity. He immediately felt a sort of pull towards Kootra.

 

James later learned what that was. The draw to the Alpha. When you get bit, you feel the instinct to follow and obey the vampire that turned you. It’s why covens formed, and why Kootra was the only one allowed to bit recruits. It took one month for them to recruit enough young men, traveling from town to town, searching for single young men that seemed to have nothing to leave behind. Then, Hell began.  

 

It started when they shaved his head, and put him in uniform. James was the first of the platoon. Because of this, they nicknamed him Nova. They trained at night, and when they went overseas, they helped to change the tides of the war. They handed him a gun and basically threw the group onto the battlefield. They took bullet after bullet, taking out snipers and machine gun nests easily. They walked through the chemical gases without gas masks. They hunted at night, killing Nazis, and instilling fear amongst the ranks. 

 

Something died in James when he fought in the war. They were the unknown heroes, but that didn’t bother James, no. What bothered him was how they were treated as tools. As fodder for the machine guns. As nothing more than weapons themselves. James hated the dehumanization, and he knew that it would get much worse when he got back. 

 

Kootra got them a house in Colorado: out in the wilderness, so no one would find them easily, and they could live together in peace. But it wasn’t so simple. Kootra began to get restless and started to drink people dry, which was against their coven code. Then he started to order human hunts for fun, not even drinking their blood. James couldn’t stand it anymore. He went against all the feelings he had and moved to LA. He had heard it was the city of opportunity, and he was ready for something new. 

 

It was crowded and smelled like an old, sweaty person, but at least no one, especially the police, questioned a person that lived their life at night. He roamed the streets, hiding in abandoned buildings during the day. He didn’t want to, he hated it. He hated the nature of it. For almost three months, James lived in LA without feeding.

 

He knew that he couldn’t last forever. 

 

James couldn’t even think straight by the time he made it to the bar. He stood outside, eyes closed, smelling the intoxicating scent of humans coming from inside. He watched as a man, clearly inebriated stumbled out the steps, reaching out to steady himself.  _ It would be so easy. _ The voice said.  _ He wouldn’t feel a thing. _

 

James tailed the man for a few blocks, keeping to the shadows. Not like he would notice anyway. The man stopped and stood, shakily, at the edge of an alley. James took a deep breath and turned away.  _ I can’t do this. _ He heard a thud and quickly turned back around. The man had fallen, and James rushed over, trying to see if he was alive. The man was face down, and James was afraid to touch him. The man raised his head and gave James a weak smile. 

 

“Think I had a bit too much?” James helped the man up, and as he stood, wiping off his clothes, a drop of blood dripped down onto his shirt. “Aw man, I just washed this one too.” 

The smell was too much for James. He looked up at the man, whose nose was now bleeding profusely. James whimpered. He didn’t want it to be like this. But he couldn’t stop it now. He pushed the man back into the dark of the alley, and slammed his head on the cold brick of the wall, before exposing his neck and drinking. James didn’t mean to kill him. He never meant to do any of this. 

 

James was drunk. Not just on blood, but that was part of it. The man’s blood was so full of alcohol it was having an effect on James as well. He was huddled at the end of the alley, crying. He hated himself. He had just been so. Damn. Hungry. His vision was blurry and shaky, and he didn’t want to move. 

 

He heard someone coming down the alley.  _ It doesn’t matter.  _ He thought.  _ Let them kill me.  _ Then he heard growling. Through the tears, James could make out what looked to be a big dog.  _ No, _ he thought.  _ Not a dog. A wolf. _ And if it was in the city, that probably meant that it was a werewolf. James swayed a little bit, and the wolf stopped growling. It got closer, and James could make out the scars that covered its body. It was shaking, the rain soaking its black fur. James couldn’t tell if it was cold or scared, or both. Without thinking, James slowly held out his hand. This is so stupid. His hand shook, whether it was fear or the drunken blood, James couldn’t tell. The wolf stuck out its nose, smelling the air. It took one step. Two steps. It took one last smell of the air and licked James' hand. James giggled. It tickled, and he retracted his hand. The wolf didn’t back up and instead took another step forward, so that his nose was almost touching James’ face. He smelled the blood that was still all over James’ face, and James pet the wolf’s shoulder, scratching his back. The wolf licked James’ face, and James laughed, allowing for the wolf to clean his face. The tears were still streaming down James’ face, but it wasn’t long before the wolf had wiped them away.

 

James didn’t like waking up in strange places. He knew at least he was inside, on a bed. He glanced around. The curtains were drawn, but he could feel the heat from the day coming through. He looked at the clock. 7:14. He was wearing new clothes. Comfy clothes, and also noticed that someone’s warm body had wrapped themselves around James. The man was sleeping peacefully next to him, his chest rising and falling rhythmically. James reached over, feeling the mass of the man’s arms muscles. The man stirred in his sleep, releasing James and turning over to exposing his stomach. The scars. James could faintly see the scars that crisscrossed the man’s body. Silver scars no less, caused by silver chains. The only thing that could hold a werewolf, at least temporarily.  _ What am I doing? _ James asked himself, not for the first time in his life. 

 

James quietly left the bed and went out to explore the kitchen.  _ Might as well make this guy some coffee _ . James wandered around, trying to find a mug to make some coffee for the wolf when he woke up. The curtains in the whole house were drawn, so someone last night had enough sense to close them all when they got into the building. James measured out the grounds, pouring water into the coffeemaker and pressing the button to let it brew. 

 

James leaned against the counter, thinking of his options. Despite the obvious bad blood between vampires and werewolves, something in James was attracted to the wolf. He stood and listened as the coffee bubbled and coughed. A short cough caught James’ attention as he looked up to see the wolf standing there, eyes half closed. He swayed with drowsiness and walked slowly towards James. 

 

James stood a still as possible, unsure of what was going to happen. The wolf leaned into James, making a sound like a whining puppy. 

 

James swallowed hard. “Uh, good morning?” James smiled, and the wolf smiled back as James handed him the coffee. 

 

“Thanks,” the man croaked out, closing his eyes and leaning back against James’ chest. 

 

_ Oh God. _ James thought.  _ How can I not love this man?  _

 

The werewolf’s name was Brett, as James learned, and he was pack-less, just as James was coven-less. Brett tried to keep himself locked up when he turned on a full moon, but he must have broken out last night, and that’s when he found James. Brett was turned by a Confederate soldier and had lurked the country since then. When Brett finished his coffee, he finally asked James something that James had wondered himself. 

 

“Why did you try and help me?” Brett asked. James shrugged his shoulders. 

 

“I don’t know man, I was kind of drunk last night.” James avoided the curious stare of Brett, who simply laughed at James’ answer. 

 

“Ok, yeah, but I think even a drunk vampire wouldn’t have hesitated to kill me. I mean really? A werewolf interrupting a feeding vampire?”

 

James shrugged again. “I don’t know dude. Maybe it was a stroke of luck. Speaking of, why didn’t you try and attack me?” James asked, and this time is was Brett would was flustered. 

 

“I...I don’t know either. Something in me I guess heard sounds of distress and wanted to help.” 

 

“Gee, thanks,” James said rolling his eyes. James didn’t want to admit it, but he liked the feeling of someone actually caring about him. Of waking up in a bed next to someone. To feel wanted by someone. 

 

Brett squinted his eyes and smirked. “Well, if you want to stay, I’m not going to kick you out,” 

 

James stuttered. “Uh, well, I, uh,” James flubbed, and Brett put his mug on the table, standing up and stepping closer to James. 

 

“And I know where we can get you some good type O,” Brett elbowed James in the ribs, raising his eyebrows. This time James was genuinely interested. 

 

“Where would that be?” James asked, crossing his arms. 

 

Brett smiled, and James was afraid of what that smile might hold. “Have you ever heard of RoosterTeeth?” 

 


	5. RIPD

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After his monster briefing, they decide to field test Aleks. Things don’t go exactly as planned.

It had been a really long time since James had the…talk with someone. Most monsters James knew were either born into it or were turned after they learned. It actually wasn’t that common for someone to be accidentally turned. Most monsters didn’t want some toddler wandering around with them, or did not want to risk their reputation turning and leaving someone. It made for easier transitions if they knew at least a little. Brett had made a call to someone to bring in food and James led Aleks back to the couch and sat down with him, unsure really what to say.

 

“Can you please tell me what’s going on?” Aleks asked, and James put his hand on his back, trying his best to be comforting. 

 

“Ok, so, where do I start?” James asked, turning towards Brett, who just shrugged. James gritted his teeth. “What do you think is happening?” Aleks’ eyes were wide with confusion and fear. 

 

“I have no idea. Best guess, you spiked my drink last night and I’m still on some bad trip,” Aleks said, shaking his head. “Any minute now, I’ll wake up tied in the back of your car a hundred miles across the border.” James was only slightly offended but brushed off the remark. 

 

“Well, luckily, I didn’t drug you, but something else happened to you last night. You were...turned.” 

 

“What the fuck does that mean?” Aleks asked, and James could tell that he was getting impatient. So James decided to be blunt.

 

“You’re a zombie.” 

 

“Yeah now I know I’m on some fucking drugs,” Aleks quipped, clearly not believing him. James decided that maybe he should wait a few minutes before trying again. And as he waited, Lindsey walked in, carrying something that smelled completely horrid. James gagged as Lindsey walked over to James and Aleks, dropping the bag on Aleks lap. 

 

“Lunch,” she said and walked away, clearly uninterested in the sudden turn of events. 

 

“Gross,” James mumbled, but Aleks was already opening the takeout container, revealing the more pink than grey brain. 

 

“Oh, funny,” Aleks said, closing the box. “Really going all out on this right?” Aleks was trying to sound mad, but his face betrayed his hunger. James didn’t respond, and he watched as something switched inside of Aleks. He silently opened the box back up, and picked off a piece of the brain, slowly putting it in his mouth. James watched as he slowly chewed and swallowed, and then turned towards James, a very, very worried look painted on his face, 

 

“Please tell me that this isn’t real,” Aleks pleaded, and James shook his head. Aleks was silent and then seemed to come to a sort of conclusion. “Ok fine, I’m ready to listen.” 

 

Aleks listened as James tried his best to explain the whole thing. Yes, Aleks was now apparently a zombie, and no he wasn’t the only one. There were monsters all over the city, all different kinds. James paused. 

 

“We...we’re not human,” James said, gesturing to the general area of the warehouse. “I mean, except for Trevor, but he’s...weird.” Aleks nodded, which, to James, didn’t seem like the appropriate reaction. “That doesn’t freak you out? That you’ve been working with things that aren’t human?” Aleks thought for a moment, tilting his head. 

 

“Not really, my mind is already fried from this whole ordeal so I’ve just decided to accept this.” Aleks looked calm, and James didn’t know if he should be relieved. 

 

“Like, I’m a vampire,” he tried to explain, pointing at himself. “I drink blood.” Aleks nodded. 

 

“Nice, I’m not the only one with dietary restrictions.” Aleks joked, and James stared at him.  _ Why was he being so calm about this? _

 

“I tri to d eat you one day!” James yelled. “You remember one of the first nights you worked? When I was kind of out of it? When I was ‘off my meds?’” James made some air quotes. Aleks didn’t answer. James leaned in. “I hadn’t eaten for weeks. I had been staked out and just brought in my target. And when I came back to the office, I wasn’t expecting you to be here. You smelled so good.” Aleks grimaced, and James backed off. “Doesn’t really matter anymore, you smell like a corpse.” 

 

“Dude!” Aleks exclaimed, lifting his arm, trying to smell himself. James couldn’t help but laugh. 

 

“It’s a vampire thing. We have an excellent sense of smell. We can also smell different creatures. They each have different...tells. Humans smell like well, human. But for some reason it’s enticing. Zombies smell like rotting meat. It’s different than reapers, who smell like death, they’re a little bit sweeter.” Aleks looked at him funny. “What?” 

 

“Death smells sweet?” He asked, and James shrugged. 

 

“I don’t know, the only reaper I’ve met smelled like that.” James pointed to Brett’s office. “He’s almost as bad as you. Brett smells like a wet dog. And it gets worse near the full moon.” Aleks nodded, and James hoped he was smart enough to put together that Brett was a werewolf. “Anna smells like rain. Or maybe a thick fog.” James paused. “She’s a ghost.” 

 

“So then does everyone become ghosts?” Aleks asked. 

 

“No, they are actually more rare than you think.” James shuttered. He remembered the story that Anna told him when she first started working here. If that’s what happened for you to become a ghost, he was more than happy going right to Hell. 

 

They were interrupted by Lindsey, who walked in again, a stern look on her face.

 

“You might have actually gotten lucky James,” she said, handing him a backpack with a smile on her face. “With the recent opening on the team, you were going to need a new member anyway.” She smiled at Aleks. “Suit up.” 

 

“Into what?” Aleks asked, and James handed Aleks the backpack. 

 

“Your real work uniform. We may have lied to you just a little bit when you applied. We can’t really tell a human what we do here,” James said. Aleks opened the backpack, pulling out matching black pants and a shirt. “We do work with RoosterTeeth,” James explained. “But we’re like, the bounty hunters.” James smiled. He really did like this part of the job. “We go out and make sure that any rowdy monsters are neutralized, in order to keep humans from learning of our existence.” 

 

“What’s the big deal though?” Aleks asked. James looked at him in confusion. “If all these monsters are already living with humans, why can’t we just tell them we’re here?” 

 

“The deal is that while some humans might be ok with it, we’ve seen that most of the others would probably just kill us.” Aleks accepted that, and continued to rifle through the bag. James put a hand on Aleks shoulder. “You’re a part of the team that is keeping the city safe, not just for humans, but for all us monsters as well.” 

 

___

  
  


Aleks definitely didn’t feel safe. He huddled behind the wall as the shooting continued. Yeah, this definitely wasn’t safe. But on the plus side, he was already dead, so how much worse could it get. Aleks was about to find out it could get much worse. 

 

The mission had been going so well. Lindsey had found a werecat that had jumped bail. He was holed up in a shitty apartment downtown, and Brett, James and Aleks were supposed to go in and apprehend him with as little attention as possible. Two senior field agents and a rookie. They had handed him a gun, mentioning that even though they were monsters, there wasn’t really anything that couldn’t at least be slowed down by a bullet. What could go wrong? 

 

Aleks caught movement from the corner of his eye and watched Brett rush past Aleks to the next wall, his own gun pressed tight against his chest. He didn’t know where James was. Brett was breathing heavily and bleeding from his shoulder. Aleks watched him bare his teeth, listening to the firing of the machine gun.  _ He’d have to reload,  _ Aleks thought. There was a pause, and Brett launched himself around the corner, running at the man at the end of the hallway. Aleks didn’t watch, but he didn’t hear any more shooting, so he peeked his head around the corner. 

 

A large black wolf had a man pinned to the ground, the wolf’s own body almost touching the ground as well. James ran past Aleks towards Brett, and Aleks stood up and followed at a slower pace, rolling his eyes. These crazy people expected Aleks to be able to shoot a gun and apprehend criminals in a day? Aleks watched as James placed a hand on the haunches of the wolf, kneeling next to the man, dragging him into an upright position. Brett stayed as a wolf as Aleks approached. 

 

“Here Aleks,” James gestured towards the man, and Aleks walked over, putting his own hand on the man’s shoulder. “Watch him while I go get Brett cleaned up,” James muttered, standing up and walking back down the hallway, Aleks watching as Brett shifted back into a human, the twisting and moving bones making Aleks feel queasy. He leaned easily on James, who helped Brett get down the stairs, leaving Aleks alone with the werecat. He could feel that there was something more going on between the two, but Aleks had never been one for picking up signals like that. The man and Aleks sat there for a minute in silence before the man spoke up. 

 

“You the new guy?” he asked, his mouth crinkling into a scowl. Aleks didn’t want to really answer the guy, but he had nothing else to do.

 

“Uh, yeah I guess.” Aleks could tell that the man was studying him, trying to get any other information out of him. They sat for a moment more before Aleks heard James’ voice calling down the hallway. 

 

“Aleks!” He called out. His voice sounded watery and far away, but he sounded like he was in trouble. 

 

“James!” Aleks responded, standing up and letting the man go for a moment. Then he felt it. A hot white pain between his shoulder blades, immediately replaced with pure rage. He saw the man running down the hallway and let him think for a moment he could get away. But Aleks was fast. He was next to him in a moment grabbing the man by his arm and flinging him back. He landed on side, scrambling back as Aleks walked towards him. The man screamed out as Aleks leaned down grabbing the man by his shirt and pulling him up to eye level. Aleks could hear someone growling, and it took him a moment to realize that it was him. He pulled the knife out of his shoulder, the blade almost clean of blood. Aleks took one of his hands and grabbed the side of the man’s head and smashed his head against the wall, spewing blood and brain matter across the wall. 

 

“Aleks!” James yelled out, and Aleks paused. The rage left him and Aleks breathed out, releasing the man, who ragdolled onto the floor. All of his strength left him and he was able to think clearly. He saw the body strewed out in front of him, the blood sprayed across the wall. He almost collapsed, and put a hand out on the wall to steady himself. 

 

“What was that?” Aleks asked, his voice shaky. Brett walked up to him, pulling him back from the body. Something in Aleks took him that he was responsible for that, but how could he? Moments ago he couldn’t even shoot a gun, let alone kill someone with his bare hands.

 

Now human Brett guided Aleks down the stairs, James following after. 

 

“That’s what happened in the warehouse earlier,” Brett explained, and Aleks didn’t answer. His mind was still racing. “Zombie’s have two modes: human-passing and zombie-passing. Most of the time, you look human and act human, besides the brain cravings,” Brett opened the door, letting them all out into the dark night behind the building. “But when you get really hungry, or something happens that would usually activate your  _ human  _ fight or flight, you zombie part takes over. You go full on zombie.” Brett took a breath. “Like red eyes, veins popping out, super strength. Crazy shit like that.” 

 

“You called out for me though,” Aleks said, but James shook his head. 

 

“We were downstairs the entire time,” he looked worried, and Aleks was wondering if that was a part of this as well. Hallucinations. Brett shook his head. 

 

“We must have not been dealing with a werecat then. Some species can mimic human voices,” Brett now looked worried, and they walked quietly the rest of the way. 

 

They all got in the van, James shutting the door behind James, walking around the car to get in the other side. As James got in, there was an awkward silence that filled the van. 

 

“I fucked that up, didn’t I?” Aleks asked, and Brett was quick to answer. 

 

“No! No, it was fine! You did fine. It was your first field test, we couldn’t really expect it to have gone any different.” Brett tried his best to be convincing, but it wasn’t that great. Aleks stayed silent in the backseat as they drove off, making their way back onto the highway and eventually back to the warehouse. They sent Aleks home after that, telling him to take the next day off. 

 

Aleks laid on his bed, eyes wide open. The sun was steaming in, but Aleks didn’t really care. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to sleep. Even if it was midnight and Aleks had just taken three times the recommended dose of Nyquil, he still probably wouldn't be asleep. It’s not like he didn’t want to sleep. It was that he physically couldn’t sleep. The only real problem was that the medicine was making him feel loopy. He grabbed his phone on his night stand. They had sent him home with a few numbers he could call if he ever got hungry away from work, but Aleks wasn’t interested in that right now. He scrolled through the numbers, finally landing on the one he wanted. He chucked at himself. He had never even saved the number. Aleks hit dial. The number rang twice and the person on the other line picked up. 

 

“James?” Aleks asked, and swore that he heard James yawn as he answered. 

 

“Why did you call me Aleksandr?” Aleks paused. 

 

“Well, first, why do you know my whole name?” Aleks heard James groan away from the phone. 

 

“I have my ways. That’s not why you called though is it?” James sounded annoyed, but right now, Aleks didn’t really care. This was important. 

 

“Do...you like me?” Aleks asked, and James laughed. 

 

“You sound like a middle school girl calling her crush!” James laughed, and Aleks shushed him. 

 

“No! I mean like, when I was human, I had this feeling that you liked me, but now that I’m a zombie I don’t feel that.” Aleks explained, feeling his face flush.

 

“Sorry about that. More vampire shit. It was kind of unintentional. We all give off this like...pheromone I guess that attracts humans. It makes it easier to feed.” 

 

“Gross,” Aleks said, but this time James shushed him. 

 

“I’m not done,” he said, and Aleks remained quiet. “But now that you’re not really alive, it doesn’t work on you.” James was silent, and Aleks guessed that he was done talking. He opened his mouth to say something, but James kept talking. “That doesn’t mean that I don’t like you anymore.” and with that, James hung up, leaving Aleks once again alone. 

 

_ Fuck.  _


	6. Devil You Know

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The crew has to go investigate reports of strange activity, but first, they're going to have to meet up with the SWAT of the monster world: Funhaus.

For all the years that James had known Brett, he wasn’t used to being on the receiving end of one of Brett’s outbursts, but this time he knew that he deserved it. James didn’t want to blame Brett’s werewolf nature, but he kind of did. The protectiveness had always been a part of him, and it was making Brett jealous of Aleks. 

 

“You really think that I wouldn’t find out?” Brett was barely holding it in, and James shook his head.

 

“What is there to find out?” James argued, and Brett rolled his eyes. 

 

Oh, that you and that fucking brainless blonde are going at it,” Brett emphasized all his words, James felt their sting. 

 

“We haven’t!” James insisted, now getting more made himself. “We’ve just talked!” Brett grumbled something that James couldn’t make out, and James swore that he could hear someone shuffling outside in the warehouse. At this point, he didn’t care who was listening to their argument. 

 

“We have never been exclusive, Brett,” James pointed out. “We’re open. I would have told you if I had crossed a line.” Brett’s shoulders went down one millimeter, but James could still tell that he was seething. 

 

“Doesn’t change the fact that it happened,” Brett mumbled. “Why do you even like that dead weight?” Brett asked, and James didn’t want to answer him. _He likes the same stuff as me, we get along really well, and well, we just click._ As they stood in their awkward silence, Brett’s phone rang. 

 

“Hello? Yeah. Ok.” Brett hung up, shooting James one last death glare. “Funhaus wants to meet now. Brett then walked out, leaving James alone in Brett’s office. James took a moment to compose himself, then walked out as well, almost running right into Aleks. 

 

“Woah dude, watch where you’re going,” Aleks muttered, putting his hands up, and James scanned his face, trying to determine if Aleks had heard anything. 

 

“When did you get here?” James asked, trying to not sound suspicious. Aleks shrugged. 

 

“A little bit ago, Lindsey told me that we’re going for a drive.” And with that, Aleks walked past James, and James was forced to follow out to the car. 

 

As usual, Funhaus was late. James didn’t care that much, at least he was out of the warehouse, but it seemed to be making Asher nervous, who was sitting in the driver’s seat, picking at his fingernails, staring out into the empty parking lot.

“I’m going to wait outside,” Asher said absently, opening the door and walking to stand next to the headlights, seemingly more relaxed outside of the SUV than inside of it. The car was idling, its headlight illuminating a few spots in front of them. Aleks poked James from the backseat, trying to entertain himself.

“Will you quit that?” James hissed, but Aleks ignored him. Aleks poked him again, and James batted at him. “Stop it!” James ordered, but he started laughing. “Aleks!”

“I’m so bored,” Aleks whined, finally leaning back in the seat, arms draped across the headrests.

“Please try to entertain yourself for at least a few more minutes,” James sighed, rolling his eyes. Aleks groaned, and then went back to poking at James.

“You could entertain me,” Aleks suggested, and James unlocked the door. He really regretted telling Aleks that he liked him. He opened the door, hearing a muffled “What?” from the backseat as he closed the door, walking over to meet Asher, who had made himself comfortable leaning on the hood of the SUV.

“Too stuffy in there for you?” Asher asked, and James nodded. They sat in silence, waiting for the other group to arrive. They had been contacted by Funhaus the other day, and they had arranged for a meeting to exchange the information. They had said they had a lead on a rogue, but that’s all they were willing to say over the phone. Lindsey had suggested that they all wore bulletproof vests, and Brett had agreed. It wasn’t like they didn’t trust Funhaus, it was just that sometimes Funhaus attracted the wrong kind of attention. They were known all over the city as the “monster police” and just whispering their name could elicit all kinds of responses, depending on who you happened to be talking to.

James pulled at the collar of his vest, and heard the window roll down, followed by Aleks yelling out at them.

“Can we get some food? I’m hungry.” James was about to answer that no, we can’t go get food because you just ate, but was distracted by the roar of an engine.

“It’s a sports car. Orange,” Asher said, peering into the dark. Asher’s vision was ten times better than James’ at night. The car meant that this wasn’t a work time meeting, which could mean one of two things. This was unrelated to work, or this was something that shouldn’t be talked about at work.

James shifted uncomfortably as the car pulled up to meet them, its own lights now blinding them. James heard Aleks open the door and walk over to stand next to him, now serious. The car’s engine turned off but the lights stayed on, and they watched as the doors opened and three people got out. James immediately smelled the wolf. It made his nose crinkle and he made enough of a face that Aleks noticed.

“What?” Aleks asked, still facing forwards.

“Werewolf,” James whispered. That meant that either Greene or Willems was here. The next thing he noticed was a subtler smell, and as the group walked closer, he realized what it was.

Sulfur. Then as his hair stood up on its ends, he realized was it was. A Nephilim. That must be Elyse, so the wolf must be Willems. That still left one more person, but James ran out of time as they finally got close enough for the two groups to see each other.

Asher was the first to approach, first shaking Willems' hand, and then hugging Elyse. She smiled, and James approached, greeting them as well. He introduced Aleks as well, and Elyse introduced Kovic, the third member. He smiled and held his hand up as a greeting.

“So what’s going on?” James asked, and Elyse glanced at Willems, who looked from Asher to James.

“We had a tip from a reliable source that there’s been a, very large spike in demonic activity in quadrant 4.” James ran through the numbers and cursed under his breath. Willems continued. “So you can understand why we’ve been kind of staying out of it, but the source said that it’s gotten worse.”

James thought for a moment, but it was Asher who spoke up first.

“Do you think that you’d be able to take us to your source? Then it would make it easier to assess the situation.” Willems looked at Kovic, who shrugged.

“Yeah, we can take you there.”

__

“Wait so, you’re James, and you’re James?” Aleks was sitting between James and Willems, and James the vampire nodded.

“Why do you think we call him Willems?” James asked, and Aleks nodded. They were headed into a more outer neighborhood of the city, and as Asher turned, Aleks was squished once again. Aleks grunted.

“Wait, why are you Elyse then?” Aleks pointed to the front seat, where Elyse was sitting comfortably.

“Because then I’d be Willems too,” she laughed, and Aleks nodded, not fully understanding. James muttered something about the smell and rolled down the window, sticking his head out. He could see Willems smiling out of the corner of his eye, playing with a gold band on his left hand. Aleks could see a similar silver band on Elyse’s left hand. Then it clicked with Aleks.

“Ahhh,” Aleks muttered, and Elyse laughed again.

Aleks quickly changed the subject. “So what you’re telling me, is that so one really controls this place? Like, no crew takes care of the monsters there?” Asher made another sharp turn, ignoring the complaints from the backseat.

“It’s not uncommon for areas of the city that had low levels of activity to go without monitoring, and we’ve had a good enough system in place,” Elyse answered, her hand gripping the middle console.

“Yeah?” Aleks said from the backseat. “Then why is there a problem now?”

“Well, it must have just gotten under their noses,” Adam answered from the back row. “He may be a reliable source; he’s also not known for always upholding the rules put in place.” Adam was happy enough to sit in the way back.

They turned down a more residential road, Elyse guiding them through the winding streets. The street lights cast a yellow glow on the occupants of the car, who had all gone silent.

“Up here,” Elyse pointed to a more apartment style building. They parked behind the building, and they all piled out of the car.

Willems held up his hand. “We have to be careful. He’s not expecting us, and he might run. So try not to spook him.” Elyse nodded.

“And he might already know we’re here,” she pointed out as she led the group up the stairs, unlocking the maintenance entrance. “Adam, you stay down here in case he makes a run for it.” Adam nodded, and they watched as he jumped off the stairs, shifting mid-air, landing gracefully on the ground as a larger than usual mountain lion.

“Show-off,” Willems muttered as they filed their way inside. The informants’ apartment was on the third floor, and the group slowly made their way up the stairs, soon approaching his door.

“Ok you guys stay here,” Elyse whispered. “He might not freak out as much if he only sees people he knows.” Asher nodded, motioning for Aleks and James to stop behind him. They watched from around the corner as Willems knocked on the door. There was a pause before they heard the door open, and Aleks saw the two go into the room. He looked at James and Asher, both looking incredibly bored.

There was some loud movement inside the apartment, and Aleks heard the door slam open and saw Willems running frantically down the hall towards them. He ran right by, right down the stairs that they had just come up.

“Huh,” James said, watching the fire door slowly shut. “What was that abou-” James was interrupted by Willems again, running out of the room, with Elyse following right behind him.

“What?” Aleks yelled, and Elyse paused at the stairs.

“We gotta go!” Elyse yelled back as the two rushed to the stairs, Asher standing up to follow.

“What is going on?” Aleks tried to ask again, and as Asher stood up next to him, Aleks saw something click.

“Oh no.” Asher muttered, and then said a little louder. “Shapeshifter.” Then he took off, hoping that Aleks and James would follow.

Shapeshifters weren’t inherently dangerous, they were just very, very hard to find. They were dangerous in the sense that they could very easily convince you that they were really the person that they were imitating. And if their only lead in the demon spike was a shapeshifter, they were going to have to catch him.

They raced down the stairs, Asher basically gliding down to each landing, and could hear Willems and Elyse down the stairs a floor below them. They burst out the back door and saw that Adam had pinned someone on their back, teeth barred dangerously close to the man’s face.

“Good kitty, nice kitty,” the man was repeating, his voice shaking. Elyse walked up to him, Adam’s growling like a low engine roar. She bent down pulling out her phone and turning on the flashlight, shining it right in his face.  The man’s eyes reflected back the light unnaturally, like a wild animal’s, and Elyse stood back up, shutting off the light.

“Get up Keenan.” Adam backed off, letting the shifter up, and Elyse offered him her hand. He took it, shaking his head. The man walked over to James, who watched as the bones in his face changed, his whole form getting a little taller and his hair lightening. Like most shifting, watching made James feel uneasy. 

“You could at least call me Criken in front of the new guys,” the man mumbled, and Elyse scoffed. James was able to see the shapeshifter’s new form more clearly in the open. He was tall and wiry, sporting short, spiky, blonde hair.  A streak of blood ran through his hair and down the side of his face, probably from slamming into the pavement. If they had to guess, he looked to be in his 20’s, but it was always hard to tell with monsters.

“Christ you hit me hard,” Keenan put his hand up to his head, talking to Adam, who was in the middle of shifting.

“Sorry about that,” Adam said, stretching his jaw out. “I didn’t mean for that to be a takedown, but I wasn’t sure if that was you” Adam cracked his neck, stretching out even more.

Keenan walked over to Asher, Aleks, and James and held his hand out with a smile. “Hi,” he said, and James took it. His hold was firm, and his smile did seem oddly genuine. “I’m Criken.”

Criken led them back up to his apartment, telling them to make themselves at home. James and Aleks sat on the couch, while Elyse and James stood in the kitchen as Criken found himself an ice pack.

“You guys want anything? I try to keep this place stocked up in case I get uninvited visitors,” James and Aleks couldn’t tell if he was being sarcastic or not, and they looked back at Criken in the kitchen, who was holding up a brain in one hand and a blood bag in the other. They looked at each other, then back at Criken. He smiled, walking back over to the couch with both in hand.

The whole group sat in the living room, and as they got settled, James began to look around. The walls of the apartment were almost bare, except for a few poorly framed photos. They seemed to be of a bunch of different people, some of whom he almost recognized. Criken cleared his throat, bringing James’ attention back to center.  

“So what can I do for you guys?” 


	7. Devil You Don't

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rumors of a rogue witch from their informant prompt the crew to investigate.

James could tell that the bump on Criken’s head hurt as he watched him gingerly place the ice pack on his forehead. 

 

“We heard that there was a strange spike of demonic activity in this area, and we wanted to try and curb that,” James said, and Criken nodded.

“Yeah, I was telling these guys about that,” Criken gestured to the Funhaus crew. “My group and I have been running around this place recently. It’s this older place, looks kind of like an old hospital. People that didn’t have anywhere else to go used to live in there.” Criken paused, and James had a feeling that the kid must have spent his fair amount of time in there as well. “But like a few weeks ago, someone must have bought it, because a big fence went up and now someone’s doing some kind of operation there.”

“What kind of operation?” Aleks piped up, and Criken just shrugged.

“We’re not really sure. We snuck in a few times, and it was just...so weird. The had a bunch of people in there, but they were…” He paused, and they could feel the uneasiness coming off of the shifter. “They weren’t dead, not really. But they definitely weren’t conscious. And there was a lot of them in there, maybe 50 or 60. They would just stand there, and didn’t react to anything.” Criken looked from Aleks to Elyse and then looked down. “Then there was the blood. Just gallons of it, and in the old cafeteria, there was a huge pentagon painted on the floor.”

“Shit,” James whispered out loud. “Fucking witches.” Monsters were simple to deal with, as long as you knew their strengths and weaknesses. But witches, or really any magic users, were always problems. The amateurs never knew their own strength, causing hundreds of thousands in property damage. The trained ones were worse because they knew exactly what they could do.

“We need to deal with this ASAP,” Asher said, and Elyse shook her head, agreeing. Criken shifted nervously, and they looked back at him. “What?” Asher asked.

 

“It wasn’t me, but one of my friends apparently heard her talking about...Hatsure? Hatsune?” Criken yelled out into the rest of the apartment. “Tomato!” 

 

“What?” Everyone looked with confusion as another voice yelled back. 

 

“Come here!” Criken yelled, and they all heard groaning as a chair creaked and footsteps came down the hallway. 

 

“Hatsune? Like Hatsune Miku?” Asher whispered, but James slapped his leg to keep quiet.

 

“What do you want?” The man said as he came around the corner, then glanced with surprise around the room. His eyes reflected the lamp lighting as he surveyed the couches. “Oh, great, thanks for telling me we were going to have company.” The man had short cut red hair and was wearing thin-rimmed glasses. James could detect some kind of accent in his voice as well. He was holding a small Chinese takeout container that James could guess didn’t have Chinese in it, and he didn’t want to guess what was in it. 

 

“I was just telling them about the dude that witch lady was talking about,” Criken explained, and Tomato couldn’t look any less interested. “What did she call him?”

 

“Hastur,” Tomato said, and the room’s temperature seemed to drop a few degrees. Tomato seemed to notice. “Geez, sorry,” Tomato muttered. “Am I done here?” He asked and Criken nodded, smiling. Tomato returned to the other room, and they all sat in very uncomfortable silence. 

 

“Tomato?” Asher whispered and was slapped once again by James. 

 

__

  
  


“That’s definitely not good,” Elyse muttered again, as Asher tried to break as many traffic laws as possible.

 

“What the fact that Asher just ran his third red light or that there’s some batshit crazy witch trying to awaken an elder god?” James asked as he held on in the backseat for dear life. 

“Uh, kind of both,” Kovic spoke from the backseat, trying not to flop from side to side as Asher swerved around traffic. 

 

They had left Criken’s soon after he told them about Hastur. They needed to get to that hospital and find out what the fuck was going on for themselves. James had Aleks call in for backup, and apparently, Brett and Trevor were on the way to meet them.

 

“Left!” Elyse yelled, and Asher cut off another minivan, getting them another loud honk. The road they had turned down seemed more quiet, more secluded. Asher seemed to subconsciously slow down, and then suddenly the giant shape of the hospital appeared in front of them. Another black SUV was already parked out front, and James recognized it as their other company car. Brett and Trevor seemed to have beat them here.

 

They parked behind the other SUV and quietly walking up to the front gates. Aleks stood close behind James, and James could sense that he was afraid. He honestly didn’t blame him. This place smelled like...well bad things. James couldn’t really pinpoint it, but it smelled like a lot of monsters all at once. 

 

“Stay in the car Asher, in case we need a quick getaway,” James asks, and Asher nods, shutting off the engine as the rest of them get out. 

 

The chain of the gate had already been cut probably by Brett.  _ Strange,  _ James thought. It wasn’t like Brett to charge in, especially since he was the backup that they had called. James led them through the overgrown courtyard, trying to pick up on any sign that someone had been there recently. The front door opened, and a frantic figure came bursting out, running right at them. He heard the Funhaus group draw their weapons. James held his hand up. 

 

“Hold your fire!” He ordered, and luckily everyone seemed to obey him, but the guns were still raised. The figure got closer, and James felt his stomach drop.  _ Brett.  _ He was battered, scrapes across his chest, and seemed to be limping as he ran. His face was dirty, and he looked scared, which scared James even more. Brett was supposed to be the strong one. “Brett!” He yelled out, and Brett glanced back at the building, then ran at the group, finally collapsing at James’ feet. James kneeled down, gripping Brett’s shoulders. Aleks kneeled as well, his face full of concern. 

 

“What happened?” Aleks asked, and Brett shook his head, tears forming in his eyes. 

 

“Trevor.” Brett whispered, and James looked up at the building. Trevor was still in there. If this is what happened to Brett in there, who knows what could have happened to Trevor. 

 

“Elyse,” James’ voice broke as he called over the Nephilim and she silently cupped Brett’s face with one of her hands, and both of them began to glow. The air around them smelled of ozone, and James took a step back. Brett closed his eyes and took a deep breath, and then Elyse released him, and the light faded. Willems gently took Elyse’s hand, bringing her a step back to recuperate. Brett stood up, standing steady with James’ hand on his shoulder. 

 

“They fucking took Trevor.” Brett stared back into the building and without warning, began walking back in. James glanced at Aleks, and the two of them decided that they had no choice but to follow. He didn’t blame Funhaus if they didn’t follow - if he didn’t have teammates in here, he wouldn’t be risking his life either. 

 

The place was dark, illuminated slightly by the lights outside. James felt Aleks grab his arm. James and Brett might have good night vision, but that didn’t seem to extend to zombie Aleks. James followed Brett, leading Aleks through the rotting hallways. 

 

“Brett,” James whispered, and Brett turned. “What is even going on?” Brett looked like worried. 

 

“We can’t stop for that long,” he mumbled and turned to keep walking. James grabbed his arm, tired of Brett being cryptic. 

 

“What do you mean?” James asked through his teeth, and Brett couldn’t look him in the eyes. 

 

“She’s listening,” he whispered. “We went in, Trevor heard you in here, and she grabbed him.” Brett broke James’ grip and kept walking. James went to say something else, but something caught his attention down the hallway. Brett and Aleks seemed to hear it too, and they all turned to face the dark. It was cold, and James could smell the mold and mildew coming off the walls. Then he heard it again. A scraping noise. Then some shuffling. Then, a low clicking, almost like a Geiger counter. 

 

James thought he could see something moving in the black. He squinted.  _ Maybe his eyes were playing tricks on him. _ Aleks tugged on James' arm, and James glanced around. Brett had left, and James decided that maybe it was best if they didn’t stick around. They kept walking, as quietly as possible, and the clicking faded behind them. 

 

Brett was standing in the middle of the hallway, his silhouette outlined by some light source in front of him. James and Aleks walked up behind him, peering over his shoulder. 

 

Some kind of shrine was built in front of them. It had a design drawn with a dark liquid on the linoleum floor, with candles lit and smaller items surrounding it. James didn’t have to smell it to know that it was blood. 

 

“Brett,” James cautioned, and Brett looked both ways, down two similarly dark hallways. Brett was concentrating on the noises, trying to hear their friend. 

 

“This way,” he said, pointing right, and James and Aleks followed. They snuck past a few more of the hallways with the clicking, and only once James thought he saw what was causing it. A sewn together monstrosity, wrapped in bandages, moving unnaturally, scraping the walls, trying to find its way out with noise and feel. 

 

They came out into a larger room, which James guessed to be the old cafeteria. It was brighter than the hallways, as the roof had rotten through exposing the large area to the natural moonlight. It had a lot of tables that had been pushed aside. And just as Criken had described, a large design drawn on the floor. Except now, in the center of the design was a body. 

 

_ Trevor.  _

 

James pushed ahead of Brett, but Brett grabbed him, pulling him back behind a table. He held his finger to his lips, pointing out to the body. A group of the clickers that James hadn’t seen was lurking behind the body, seemingly guarding it. 

 

“I’ll distract those things while you guys grab James,” Aleks suddenly piped up, and James shook his head, but Aleks was already sneaking around the back of tables, making his way over to the other side of the room. Brett looked over at James, and they started getting closer to Trevor. They looked up as they heard something clattering, and apparently, the clickers heard it as well, as they all turned towards the sound together. 

 

“I guess now’s our chance,” James whispered and followed Brett to the circle, where Trevor was laying. All James could think was: please don’t be dead. 

 

__

  
  


Aleks didn’t know what he was thinking when he volunteered to distract those...things. But he did know that he felt bad about not being helpful. He didn’t know much about fighting and knew next to nothing about this world. But he didn’t want to just be the useless tagalong. He crept as close as he dared to the monsters, hiding behind the overturned tables. He held his breath, listening as the clicking seemed to almost shake him. Next to him was a broken off stool from one of the tables.  _ Here goes nothing.  _

 

He grabbed the disk, throwing it like a frisbee as far as he could, hitting the opposite wall, clattering around before laying still. The creatures all snapped their heads towards the noise, their unnatural movements snapping as they made their way slowly over to the noise. Aleks glanced over the table as he saw James and Brett run towards Trevor, keeping an eye on the other creatures. They kneeled down to his body, Brett placing a hand on his shoulder. The kid stirred, seeming confused. The creatures had made their way to the corner and were beginning to realize that there wasn’t anything over there.  _ Hurry up,  _ Aleks thought. Trevor was saying something, pushing them back. James and Brett looked over at Aleks, then back at Trevor. The creatures in the corner were coming back, their clicking getting closer. Trevor looked over, and a chill ran through Aleks. Even in the relative darkness, and at this distance, Aleks could tell something was wrong. 

 

His eyes were completely black, and he looked scared, his mouth twisting unnaturally. James and Brett still weren’t moving as the creatures approached, and Trevor leaned up.

 

“Run!” He screamed, his voice echoing through the whole building. The creatures moved with incredible speed, swarming Trevor as Brett and James scrambled back, and Aleks decided that was his cue. James screamed Trevor’s name, but Aleks grabbed his hand, pulling him out of the room, and they started to run back down the hallways, hearing the violent clicking behind them. They turned a corner, then another, then another, and finally they saw the street lights coming in from outside. They burst out the door, and Elyse, Willems, and Kovic run up to them, pulling them back towards the street.  James collapsed in defeat, his head hanging and his hands at his sides. 

 

“Trevor,” Aleks heard him whisper, and Aleks took one last glance at the building before helping James back into the SUV. 


	8. You Can Run

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group has some disagreements, and after some planning, they decide to take care of the witch.

James feels numb. The ride back to the warehouse is uneventful, Asher’s knuckles white around the steering wheel as Brett recounts the story of what happened. James wanted to feel bad, he knew how much Trevor meant to Asher, but right now, he didn’t feel anything. They dropped off Funhaus, Elyse telling them to not do anything brash until they contact Rooster Teeth. Brett had nodded.

 

The warehouse was quiet when they returned, the sunlight from dawn barely breaking the horizon as they drew the shades of the lobby windows. Aleks threw his backpack down, sitting down on the couch, and as Brett walked over to join him, James felt a switch inside him flip. 

 

“Why the fuck didn’t you wait for us to get there?” James asked, his voice barely containing his anger. Brett looked up at James, bags under his eyes, and a scowl on his face. 

 

“Excuse me?” He asked, standing back up. 

 

“You fucking heard me. Why the fuck did you go in there without us?” James’ voice was low, almost a whisper, but Brett still felt the threatening nature of it. 

 

“We heard you calling for us in there. Trevor, heard you calling for us,” Brett emphasized, the growl building in his throat. James couldn’t stand it.

 

“You’re the reason that he’s gone! If you had waited he’d still be here!” James screamed, pushing Brett back, trying to knock him down. Brett stumbled, caught himself, and swung back at James. James ducked and this time tried to land a punch. Brett swung again, this time connecting with James’ jaw. His head snapped sideways, and James saw stars. He stepped back, pulling himself together before lunging at Brett, ready to tear his throat out.

 

James saw out of the corner of his eye Aleks react, jumping up and trying to pull them apart. Asher rushed over as well, and they eventually separated James and Brett, both of them almost vibrating with anger. Aleks had grabbed James and was trying to calm him down. 

 

“Dude, please, it’s going to be ok, he didn’t mean it,” Aleks kept repeating the same kind of thing, trying to convince James that no one meant for this to happen. James pushed against Aleks, feeling tears begin to stream down his face.

 

“Yeah, go with your dead boyfriend. You’re perfect for each other,” Brett snarled.

 

“Fuck you,” James managed to choke out, and Aleks pulled him back, trying to get them as far apart as they could. Asher pulled Brett back, who seemed a little more compliant. His growling seemed to resonate through James, and he hated it. Hated that a feeling that once brought James comfort wanted to make him rip his own skin off. Aleks sat James down on the couch, and James finally looked over at Aleks and felt his soul hurt. Aleks looked so worried, so troubled that James and Brett were fighting. Aleks’ hand was rested gently on James’ lower back, and James suddenly felt so stupid. James knew that this wasn’t anyone’s fault, but he hated feeling the weight of the loss on his shoulders. He wanted to blame someone. 

 

“I’m...I’m sorry about that,” James said, his voice cracking with emotion. “I’m just so angry that this even happened.” Aleks tried to give James a half smile. 

 

“It’s fine,” Aleks said, remarkably calm. “We just need to stick together to be able to figure out how to solve this,” Aleks paused. “And save Trevor.” They sat for a little bit, James trying to calm his breathing, feeling Aleks slowly trace circles on the small of his back. James didn’t want to make Brett mad. That was his last intention, but sometimes, the werewolf just pushed the right buttons. 

 

Eventually, Asher brought Brett back in, and he stood awkwardly in front of James and Aleks. He wouldn’t meet James in his eyes, looking at the ground, shuffling his feet. James knew that Brett probably wouldn’t apologize, but at least he could stand being in the same room as James. 

 

“Brett,” James said, standing up, Brett still not meeting his eyes. “It’s ok. Look at me,” James pointed at his face, and Brett slowly lifted his head, examining James’ face. “I’m fine.” Brett met James’ eyes and James finally realized what Brett was doing. “C’mon,” James muttered.

 

Brett’s eyes were wide, looking up slightly at James, and he looked like someone just kicked him. He was doing the sad puppy look. And succeeding. Brett wanted James to feel bad. 

 

“Fuck you,” James said, half-jokingly, and Brett finally broke, laughing, and James felt a little bit of relief knowing that he at least wasn’t that mad at him. At least for now. He wondered what Asher had said to him. Then he did something unexpected. 

 

“I am sorry,” Brett said, his voice low and quiet. “To both of you. I know that we shouldn’t have rushed in there. And I’m sorry about what I’ve said about you Aleks.” Aleks’ forehead wrinkled in thought and then softened. 

 

“It’s ok man. I’m sorry about trying to get between you guys in the first place. It was never my intention.” Aleks half-smiled and James could feel at least a little of the tension in the air dissipate. 

 

“Ok, now that that’s settled…” James began, but Brett interrupted him.

 

“What are we going to do about this bitch-sorry witch?” Brett turned to Aleks, who shrugged. 

 

“Well, what do we know?” A voice called out, causing Aleks to jump. Anna had materialized behind Aleks, her form shimmery and opaque but very much visible. 

 

“Really?” Aleks asked, holding a hand to where his heart is, and Anna merely shrugged. 

 

“We know,” James interrupted. “That some witch is trying to summon an elder god. She has taken over this old building just outside the city and has begun to fill it with these Frankenstein monstrosities.” 

 

“Hutsur,” Aleks added, piping up from the couch. Anna nodded, flickering the lights. 

 

“Hastur is one of the originals,” Asher yells out to no one in particular, reading from his computer. They all turn to him, and he sits awkwardly in front of his computer. He notices them staring. “I mean that he’s not a creature per se, but he is one of the things that created the original monsters.” 

 

“Then why would she want to bring him back?” Aleks asked, and Asher shook his head. 

 

“Well, obviously for nothing good, but there could be a number of reasons. Enslave humanity, try and get more power, anything along those lines.” Asher turned back to his computer.

 

“And,” Brett added. “She kidnapped Trevor. So again, what are we going to do about her?” Brett asked, and they all stood silent, and James tried to think of something that they could do. 

  
  


__

  
  


It was the next night before they were able to put their plan into motion. James sat in the passenger seat in silence as Brett drove through traffic. Aleks sat silently in the backseat. He glanced in the rearview mirror, catching sight of their second vehicle, which Lindsey, Anna, and Asher were following in. Aleks nervously examined his weapon, once again checking his ammo, going through the plan once again in his head. 

 

“Hey,” Aleks’ eyes snapped open, and James was staring at him from the front seat, clearly annoyed. “I was calling you,” he said. 

 

“Sorry, I guess I didn’t hear you,” Aleks said, and James rolled his eyes. 

 

“You feel ok?” James asked, and put his hand on Aleks’ thigh. If Aleks could blush he would, but instead, he placed his own hand over James’. 

 

“I feel great,” he said, trying not to show any of the fear in his voice. He was, of course, scared. Who wouldn’t be, Aleks thought to himself. It’s not like he faces terrifying ancient monstrosities every day, and the thought of having to go back and see those...clickers was not high up on Aleks list of things to do. But that was what he was supposed to do now. He kept repeating that over and over in his head. But it was hard to shake the feeling that this was like the last stand. Aleks had never been suspicious, but when he watched the blood red sunrise the day before, he couldn’t help but feel uneasy. They had left the warehouse as soon as the sun set, trying to give them as much time as possible. Aleks remembered Asher talking about the different spells used to raise ancient gods.

 

“They work best when the moon’s full. So it’s likely that she’ll be trying to raise him soon.” Aleks hadn’t asked why Asher knew this, but he didn’t question it. He learned that the less he questioned, the better. 

 

He didn’t know if that was the last sun he would see. There’s a lot of stuff that Aleks wished he had done before he died. Maybe traveled more. 

 

“Hey,” James said again, and Aleks snapped back to reality. “Stay with us dreamer,” James chuckled, shaking his head and turning back to the front seat. 

 

When the pulled up to the building, it almost looked worse than the other night. There was another layer of darkness and evil oozing from the framework. Even from the gate, Aleks could hear unnatural noises coming from inside. As Brett stood with his hand on the gate, he turned back to Aleks.

 

“You remember the plan?” It wasn’t like Aleks hadn’t gone over it a million times in his head already, but he nodded.

 

“Anna is going to go in first and try and scope out a good path. Then you, James and Asher will go in and clear enemies. If you can, you’ll extract Trevor, if not, you’ll radio back to us, and we’ll come in and help.” Aleks recited, and Brett nodded. 

 

“Couldn’t have said it better myself. Let’s do it.” He gestured to the gate. “Ladies first.” Anna grinned and floated in, and they watched as she disappeared into the side of the building. They all stood there is tense silence for what seemed like forever before Anna reappeared in front of them, scaring Aleks once again. Aleks could tell that Anna was trying not to be pessimistic, as she opened her mouth and paused. 

 

“Well,” she started, her form becoming transparent and then solidifying again. “It could be worse.” She drew them a map, starting at the main entrance, and then traced their path,  

detailing the different hallways where they could either sneak past a monster or they would have no choice but to fight. She looked worried but wished the three luck as they walked to the main entrance. Aleks watched as they walked, and right as they reached the door, James looked back, and Aleks gave him a smile, and James turned back around, walking into the darkness of the ruined building. 

 

“So…” Aleks began,” still facing the building but trying to make small talk with Lindsey. They had been standing there for about 5 minutes, but Aleks got bored fast. “James told me who he was, and who Brett was, but he never got around to you. Or Asher,” Aleks continued, realizing that he might not know as much as he thought. “Yeah, he never did give me the full tour of the office.” Lindsey laughed. 

 

“Yeah, James can get easily distracted. Asher is an owlman.” 

 

“A what?” Aleks asked, not sure if had heard Lindsey properly. 

 

“You know? Like a bird-man? He’s got these huge ass owl wings.” Lindsey pulled out her phone.

 

“An owl?” Aleks said, still not understanding. Lindsey held out her phone, and Aleks looked at the picture that she pulled up. It was Trevor and Asher, standing on a sandy hill. From behind Asher were two huge tan wings, probably 15 feet across. They were both laughing, and Aleks almost felt bad looking at the photo. “Wow, ok,” he whispered. “And what about you?” He asked, and Lindsey sighed. 

 

“I’m a siren.” She sounded, not ashamed, but like she didn’t like admitting the fact.

 

“Like Greek mythology, ‘luring sailors to their death’ sirens?” Aleks asked, and Lindsey nodded. “That’s pretty badass,” Aleks said, and Lindsey burst out laughing. 

 

“You’re ridiculous,” She snorted, and Aleks scoffed. 

 

“It’s true!” That’s pretty cool!” Aleks tried defending himself, and right as Lindsey opened her mouth to say something else, the radio crackled to life, and as they turned to listen, a deep voice echoed through, sending chills down their spines.

 

“Come get your friends, Aleks.”

**Author's Note:**

> So, I'm going to try and update this weekly (on Saturdays), and I'm sorry in advance if that doesn't happen (this is also the biggest fic project that I'm actually trying to actively finish, so it might take a hot minute)


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